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January 2026

Sin City Sydney, Australia to Wall Street, New York

Mining, Media and Intel

Digital Bush Telegraph

Jan 12

ASX futures up 12 points or 0.1%/8697
AUD flat at US66.94¢
Bitcoin $90,571.34 - 0.17%
Dow +0.5%
S&P +0.7%
Nasdaq +0.8%
Gold +0.7% to $US4509.50 an ounce
Brent oil +2.2% at $US63.34 a barrel
Iron ore +0.4% at $US108.30 a ton

Before The Bell

Media Man Favs

TKO Group Holdings Inc $199.63 -2.46 -1.22%
Netflix Inc $89.44 -1.09 -1.21%
Paramount Skydance Corp $12.06 -0.21 -1.71%
Tesla Inc $445.01 +9.21 +2.11%
Microsoft Corp $479.28 +1.17 +0.24%
Alphabet Inc Class A $328.57 +3.13 +0.96%

News

Numbers Double Check

Australian Dollar: $0.6671 USD (down $0.0022 USD)
Iron Ore Feb Spot Price: $108.30 USD (up $0.05 USD)
Oil Price: $59.12 USD (up $0.90 USD)
Gold Price: $4,509.20 USD (up $52.48 USD)
Copper Price: $5.8905 USD (up 0.0990 USD)
Dow Jones: 49,504.07 (up 237.96 points)

News Lead Up

Jan 10

ASX 200 futures up 29 points/0.3 per cent to 8714

AUD -0.1% to US66.90¢

Bitcoin $90,338.65 -0.95%

Wall St:
Dow +0.5%
S&P +0.7%
Nasdaq +0.8%
VIX -0.97 to 14.48
Gold +0.6% to $US4506.19 an ounce
Brent oil +1.7% to $US63.02 a barrel
Iron ore +0.4% to $US108.30 a ton

10-year yield:
US 4.17%
Australia 4.68%

News

Geopolitics will destroy the euro

EURUSD falls due to geopolitics and expectations of tariff removal

Gold returns to debasement trading

The US dollar continued its advance on Forex thanks to a new batch of strong macro statistics. Jobless claims rose less than expected. Productivity rose to a two-year high, and the US trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to its lowest level since 2009. Donald Trump's plan to balance foreign trade with import tariffs is working. However, the Supreme Court may rule the tariffs illegal by the end of the week on 9 January. The cancellation of import duties would return funds to American companies and households, which have largely absorbed the cost of tariffs that previously weighed on economic growth. The US economy has continued to expand, supported by investment in artificial intelligence, rising productivity, and the wealth effect created by record equity markets that have boosted household prosperity. The return of tariff revenues would effectively act as a fiscal stimulus, increasing disposable income and corporate cash flow. As a result, GDP growth and inflationary pressures are likely to accelerate. This combination will create another barrier to lowering the federal funds rate. Stephen Miron's calls to cut it by 150 basis points in 2026 seem like a voice crying in the wilderness. Most FOMC members understand perfectly well what the return of money from tariffs could lead to. The hawks will gain a strong trump card, the pause in the monetary expansion cycle will be prolonged, and the US dollar will benefit from this. Rumours of additional sanctions against Russia are putting pressure on the EURUSD. Diplomatic efforts to bring peace to Ukraine are not yielding results, and the continuation of the armed conflict will continue to hold back the eurozone economy. Events in Venezuela and talk of Greenland joining the US are increasing geopolitical tensions. According to ECB Vice-President Luis Guindos, this could hurt business, and increased household savings will slow GDP growth. Despite the strengthening of the US dollar, gold has managed to counterattack. The precious metal is able to benefit from the Supreme Court's repeal of tariffs. The return of money will lead to an increase in the US budget deficit and public debt. These processes underlie debasement trading. In 2025, it became one of the key drivers of the 65% rally in XAUUSD. (FxPro)

News

From gold to crypto, fundies name their top trades for 2026

It’s not all about gold in 2026 as investors reveal their high-conviction plays across the ASX, commodities, currencies and bitcoin.

Jan 7

Investors have headed into the new year convinced that the roaring bull market in safe havens like gold and silver will not be the only game in town for making money.

While the record run for gold is expected to hold its ground, fund managers and strategists say the road map for financial markets will start to broaden into slightly more adventurous territory.

After 12 months of the ASX struggling to keep pace with its international peers and the stubborn weakness in the Australian dollar, bitcoin is among the assets tipped to make a comeback.

The market is expected to shift its focus towards the changing of the guard at the US Federal Reserve and the path of global interest rates.

Against this backdrop, here are some of the top trades that professional investors have made across asset classes for 2026.

Commodities
Geologist turned fund manager Rick Squire at Acorn Capital says the multi-year rally in gold will continue, but he is betting that producers of the yellow metal and businesses with advanced development projects like Golden Horse Minerals and Rox Resources will be the biggest winners.

“The best gains will come from developers or companies starting up new operations,” he says. “Explorers may also start to run, but that will be in late 2026 or later.”

Argonaut’s David Franklyn is the most bullish on uranium as major global economies look to nuclear energy as a component of their base load power.

Perennial’s resource specialist Sam Berridge agrees, adding that uranium could be the next critical mineral that the US backs as a means of spurring investment in domestic supply.

“The nuclear renaissance 2.0 accelerated materially into the close of 2025,” Berridge says.

In a more contrarian pick, Richard Morrow, who runs the Lowell Resources Fund, believes oil will shrug off concerns about oversupply and bounce back as the US dollar continues to soften. Brent prices lost 16 per cent last year because of a global supply glut.

Stocks
While the broader sharemarket is tipped to grind higher in 2026, Australian Ethical head of Australian equities Nathan Parkin says some of the best opportunities are in building materials, particularly companies with meaningful US exposure such as Reece.

While the stock declined into the back half of 2025, causing it to slip out of the ASX 100, Parkin believes Reece’s earnings have finally bottomed. “The propensity for those earnings is to be sharply higher in the next few years,” he says.

Parkin also likes Reliance Worldwide, describing its focus more on home repair and maintenance rather than new builds that is still leveraged to a recovery in building demand.

Aaron Binsted of Lazard Asset Management, meanwhile, says he has shifted his focus to more long-term bets for 2026 and is betting on logistics and moving away from the local tech sector.

His top picks are New Zealand-based Mainfreight and Freightways.

“As the economy turns, we’re expecting those to be good long-term earnings per share and dividend growers,” Binsted says.

For Morningstar director of equity research Johannes Faul, the best opportunities are in the smaller retailers – specifically fast food and footwear. Faul says that stocks such as Domino’s Pizza have been unfairly beaten down, creating attractive entry points.

He’s also backing Accent Group, the firm behind several shoe retailers including Hype and Platypus. He says the company’s recent share price slump is “overdone” that has left the stock trading at a deep discount.

Foreign exchange
Currency strategists are betting on a stronger Australian dollar as the Reserve Bank of Australia keeps interest rates high, while other central banks like in Europe and the US look to cut.

Alvise Marino of UBS favours the Aussie against the euro as the German economy falters. He says Australia’s lower debt and higher rates make it the safer bet. “The Aussie is likely to retain an interest rate advantage,” he adds.

The strategist has forecast the euro to drop to $1.70 by late 2026, from $1.75 currently.

Westpac’s Richard Franulovich and NAB’s Ray Attrill, meanwhile, are backing the Aussie against the US dollar. They expect a “diverging” rate path with the Fed to cut the benchmark while the RBA could look to hike.

Attrill adds that a new and likely more “dovish” head of the Fed when chairman Jerome Powell steps down in May will provide an extra tailwind.

Cryptocurrency
In the world of digital assets, Merkle Tree Capital chief investment officer Ryan McMillin is expecting bitcoin to rebound later in the year as the Trump administration “runs the economy hot” heading into the midterm elections.

While bond markets imply at least two US rate cuts in 2026, McMillin is expecting even more easing to be priced once US President Donald Trump names the new Fed chief.

“We see 2026 as a year where market structure and macro finally catch up with the underlying progress,” he says. “Bitcoin to new all-time highs in the second half … led by institutional flows rather than retail leverage.”

Crypto exchange giant Coinbase believes bitcoin will lead a digital rally in the first half before smaller alt-coins play catch up later in the year.

Global head of institutional research David Duong notes that there is $US7.5 trillion ($11.2 trillion) sitting in US money market funds which will be partially redeployed into crypto markets as the Fed cuts rates.

Citi forecasts bitcoin will soar to a record $US143,000 this year, up from about $US93,747 currently, and ethereum will climb to $US4304, up from $US3224, driven by a rebound in demand for exchange-traded funds.

Fixed income
Matthew Wacher, Morningstar’s chief investment officer for Asia-Pacific, likes Australian 10-year government bonds. He argues that with yields of about 4.8 per cent, the bonds offer a better balance of reward and safety than riskier corporate loans or US debt.

“The safety of Aussie government bonds and such yields are pretty attractive. They can give your portfolio a lot of protection,” he says, noting they currently offer the best “risk-adjusted” returns for the year ahead.

Australia is one of only nine countries with a top-notch triple-A rating by the top three rating agencies.

In addition to Australian government bonds, Tim Hext at Pendal is also bullish on gilts, adding that he likes how both Australia and the UK governments are managing their budgets. “At the end of the day, fiscal policy matters more than monetary policy,” he says.

While the United States and Germany continue to spend freely, he says Australia and the UK are cutting public spending or raising taxes. It’s for this reason Hext is betting against US and German government bonds and expects both to perform poorly by comparison. (AFR) *Full article and coverage via subscription to The Australian Financial Review

News

The Australian Financial Review wins Media Man 'Newspaper Of The Month' award

News Lead Up

24 Hours ago

Jan 9

ASX 200 futures up 26 points/0.3 per cent to 8716

AUD -0.4% to US66.95¢

Bitcoin $91,020.37 -0.34%

Wall St:
Dow +0.5%
S&P -0.1%
Nasdaq -0.6%

VIX +0.19 to 15.57

Gold +0.1% to $US4459.27 an ounce
Brent oil +4.3% to $US62.55 a barrel
Iron ore -0.7% to $US108.25 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.18% Australia 4.66%

News

Crypto fails to find support for a breakout

Market Overview

The crypto market remained under pressure throughout Wednesday and early trading on Thursday, losing about 4% of its capitalisation to $3.08 trillion over the day. The market once again confirmed its cautious sentiment, retreating from the upper boundary of the consolidation range of the last eight weeks. The retreat of the stock markets created an unfavourable backdrop, and cryptocurrencies were unable to move from a rebound mode after the decline to a full-fledged recovery.

Bitcoin plunged below $90K on Thursday morning after bears seized the initiative at the end of the day on 5 January. At its lowest point, BTC approached the 50-day moving average, above which it climbed at the start of the year. The end of the week will bring an answer to the question of whether this curve has become a support level or whether we saw a false breakout at the start of the year.

News Background

Bitcoin could reach a new all-time high this year, said Bill Miller, investment director at Miller Value Partners. According to him, major Wall Street players are once again showing interest in the asset.

Institutional investors are again buying more Bitcoin through ETFs than miners are mining per day, notes analyst Charles Edwards. On-chain demand is still weak, but there are signs of a return of liquidity on Binance.

The main catalyst for Ethereum's growth in the new year will be crypto neobanks, not speculative traders, according to http://Ether.fi. Such platforms are capable of attracting many more crypto users than spot ETFs.

On 7 January, Ethereum developers implemented the Blob Parameter-Only (BPO) fork on the main network, which increases the BLOB object limit from 15 to 21. This will allow more transactions to be processed simultaneously, increasing the efficiency of the blockchain without the direct risk of overload.

Ripple has announced that it has no plans to go public, despite Wall Street's $40 billion valuation. Ripple's strong institutional support and overall treasury size have virtually eliminated the need for additional funding.

Privacy is a critical feature necessary for the development of global finance on the blockchain, which is why it will become a major focus in the crypto industry in 2026, according to a16z crypto. (FxPro)

News

Numbers Double Check

Australian Dollar: $0.6693 USD (down $0.0027 USD) Iron Ore: $108.25 USD (down $0.75 USD)
Oil Price : $58.22 USD (up $2.02 USD)
Gold Price: $4,456.72 USD (down $0.58 USD)
Copper Price: $5.7915 USD (down 0.0565 USD)
Dow Jones: 49,235.09 (up 239.01 points)

Media Man Favs

TKO Group Holdings Inc $202.09 -0.85 -0.42%

Tesla Inc $435.80 +4.39 +1.02%

Rio Tinto Ltd $144.53 -8.10 -5.31% (ASX)

Netflix Inc $90.53 -0.19 -0.21%

Porsche Automobile Holding SE Unsponsored Germany ADR $4.45 -0.020 -0.45%

Mercedes Benz Group ADR $17.42 -0.11 - 0.63%

Volvo ADR (Parent of Mack Trucks) $33.31 -0.100 -0.30%

Microsoft Corp $478.11 -5.36 -1.11%

Wynn Resorts Ltd $118.27 +1.90 +1.63%

MGM Resorts International $35.15 +1.03 +3.03%

News

Australia

Jan 9

ASX gains on tech and health; Ansell dives 6pc

The Australian sharemarket posted a modest gain on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 0.3 per cent to close at 8,72.8 points. WiseTech Global was up 2.2 per cent at $68.28, CSL advanced 2.6 per cent to $174.45 and Monadelphous Group finished 2.2 per cent higher at $27.37. However, BHP fell 0.8 per cent to end the session at $47.34, Beach Energy was down 1.4 per cent at $1.07 and takeover target BlueScope Steel shed 1.6 per cent to close at $29.40. (RMS)

News

Employment Hero settles with rival Seek

Human resources technology company Employment Hero has dropped its legal action against recruitment firm Seek, which is both an investor in Employment Hero and a rival. Employment Hero launched its action after Seek cut off access to its application program interface (API), which is a tool that permits companies such as Employment Hero to directly post job ads to Seek and to manage job candidate applications. Employment Hero had claimed that Seek's action amounted to anti-competitive conduct, but the two firms have advised that the matter has been resolved. Employment Hero's access to Seek's API will be permanently reinstated, and a three-week hearing scheduled for September will not go ahead. (RMS)

News

Nvidia's platform to slash AI costs

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has used the CES, the world's biggest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, to announce the release of a new hardware platform. Known as Rubin, it promises to reduce the cost of operating large scale artificial intelligence models by 90 per cent, while Huang also announced that Nvidia has entered into a partnership with Mercedes to create the world's first ‘thinking' and 'reasoning' car; he says Nvidia's vision is that every car and truck will be autonomous at some stage in the future (RMS)

News

Sports

As Aussies seal Ashes victory, economists hit Bazball for six

England's aggressive batting style known as 'Bazball' is under renewed scrutiny after losing the 2025-26 Ashes series 4-1. E61 Institute economists Adit Maitra and Matthew Maltman have analysed England's performance in Test matches since Bazball was introduced by incoming team coach Brendon McCullum in 2022. They found that England had initial success, winning 13 Tests during the first 18 months of the Bazball era; the team lost four matches and just one resulted in a draw. However, England's win rate has fallen sharply since the 2023 Ashes series, as opposing teams have adjusted their own playing style in response to the Bazball tactics; it should also be noted that England did not tour Australia or India - two of the highest-rated Test nations - during the initial phase of the Bazball era. (RMS)

News

Resources/Energy

Defence demand tipped to boost copper stampede

S&P Global has forecast that worldwide demand for copper will top 42 million tonnes by 2040, compared with 28 million tonnes in 2025. However, the firm warns that the demand-supply deficit could reach 10 million by 2040 unless there is a big increase in copper production. Carlos Pascual from S&P Global emphasises that copper supply is now a national security issue, given its importance to industries such as defence and artificial intelligence, and the fact that copper processing is now dominated by China. BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are amongst the big miners that are ramping up their exposure to copper. (RMS)

News

'Like a sauna': World's hottest location

While 40-degree temperatures in Victoria this week amounted to a near record for that state, such temperatures are commonplace in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is home to much of WA's $150 billion resources sector, but extreme heat there is becoming a material risk and is forcing mining companies to put in measures to protect their assets and their workforces. Dee Egan, who is a resident of the Pilbara town of Onslow, which has endured 45-degree heat for the better part of the past week, says living there feels like you are in a sauna all day. (RMS)

News

Oil stocks are cheap for a reason

Shares in Woodside Energy, Santos and Beach Energy have fallen in value by between eight per cent and 44 per cent over the last five years. In contrast, shares in the world's biggest oil companies have risen by up to 161 per cent over this period. Sharemarket experts contend that there are a number of reasons why Australian oil producers are trading at a discount; they include government policy headwinds and the fact that takeover bids are unlikely, as well as company-specific issues. Meanwhile, analysts say the Trump administation's military action in Venezuela is likely to drive the crude oil price lower, while rebuilding the nation's oil industry is expected to take years. (RMS)

News

Jan 8

ASX miner cheers Trump's 'involvement' in Greenland

Energy Transition Minerals' MD Daniel Mamadou contends that the potential for increased US involvement in Greenland is a "positive", and that it will benefit companies which operate in the Danish self-governed territory. Energy Transition Minerals is engaged in a long-running dispute with the Greenland government over its Kvanefjeld rare earths project; the deposit also contains uranium, and the government banned uranium mining in 2021. Kvanefjeld is estimated to contain up to one billion tonnes of rare earth minerals, including terbium. Energy Transition Minerals' share price rose 44.9 per cent to $0.145 on Wednesday. (RMS)

News

Nickel price offers respite for last few Australian mines

The price of nickel has risen to $US18,785 per tonne in London trading, which is its highest level since October 2024. The rally follows Vale's decision to suspend nickel production in Indonesia until the nation's government approves its annual production plan. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings subsidiary BMI has downgraded its nickel price forecast for 2026 due to expectations that the global surplus will rise; the firm now expects the nickel price to average $US15,000 per tonne. However, BMI is upbeat about the longer-term price outlook, contending that rising demand for nickel will reduce the glut. (Roy Morgan Summary)

News

The Lead Up

January 8, 2026

Sydney, Australia to Wall Street, New York

ASX 200 futures down 4 points/0.1%: 8680
AUD -0.2% to US67.27¢
BTC $91,005.03 -1.57%

Wall St:
Dow -0.7% S&P -0.2% NAS +0.3%
VIX +0.24 to 14.99
Gold -0.8% to $US4457.23 an oz
Oil -0.9% to $US60.16 a b
Iron ore +2.4% to $US109.00 a ton

10-yr yield:
US 4.13%
AUS 4.76%

News lead Up

NYSE: News

On January 7, markets were mixed with some retreat from records as momentum cooled, but no major downturn reported.

Markets showed strength early in 2026, driven by AI optimism, chip sector gains, and positive sentiment around technology.

Latest Closes (January 6-7, 2026 session data)

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA): Closed at a record 49,462.08 (up ~0.99% on January 6), briefly surpassing 49,000 for the first time before minor pullback.

S&P 500: Closed at a record 6,944.82 (up ~0.62% on January 6), with intraday highs on January 7.

Nasdaq Composite: ~23,547.17 (up ~0.65% on January 6).

NYSE Composite Index: ~22,570.82 (up ~0.62% on January 6). Key Drivers:

Semiconductor and AI-related stocks (e.g., Nvidia commentary at CES 2026, memory/storage chipmakers hitting records).

Broader market optimism despite geopolitical headlines (e.g., Venezuela developments affecting oil).
Early 2026 gains built on strong 2025 performance, with chip indexes up significantly year-to-date. (Grok)

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

Media Man

Cryptocurrency, Finance and World

"Volatility is Satoshi’s gift to the faithful." - Michael Saylor

"Bitcoin is a tool for freeing humanity from oligarchs and tyrants, dressed up as a get-rich-quick scheme." — Naval Ravikant

"We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error." — Tyler Winklevoss

"You can't stop things like Bitcoin. It will be everywhere, and the world will have to readjust. World governments will have to readjust." — John McAfee

"Bitcoin is the most important invention in the history of the world since the Internet." — Roger Ver

"Cryptocurrency is such a powerful concept that it can almost overturn governments." — Charles Lee

"In the future, national currencies will become obsolete. Bitcoin will become the single global currency." — Jack Dorsey

"The future of finance is crypto, whether it’s in payments, contracts, or savings." — Changpeng Zhao

"Crypto offers freedom to the unbanked and hope to the underprivileged." — Elizabeth Stark

"The new frontier of innovation is in decentralization. Blockchain leads the charge." — Don Tapscott

"Digital currency is here to stay, and it’s only a matter of how long before governments embrace it." — Brad Garlinghouse

Pop Culture

Dream Matches: Fantasy Booking

Santa vs Grinch
Bulls vs Bears
Crypto King vs Mr World Bank
Citizens vs NWO
Neo vs Agent Smith
John McAfee vs You Know Who!
TKO vs Naysayers
Jake Paul, Polymarket and BETR vs Naysayers
Pro Boxing vs Newspaper Reports
VKM vs The World
Paul Bros vs Mainstream Wokes
Mr X vs Mr Bluesky
Chris Jericho vs Dirtsheets
NFL vs everyone
Zuffa vs MVP
Netflix vs World
Meta vs Australia

Markets, Cryptos, Biz and Culture

Media Man Group

All That Glitters

Digital Bush Telegraph - Australia to Hollywood and Silicon Valley Edition; Media Watercooler

December 22, 2025
Sydney, Australia

December 21, 2025
Wall St, New York

Australian Dollar: $0.6610 USD (down $0.0003 USD) Iron Ore: $104.50 USD (down $US0.50)
Oil: $56.52 USD (up $0.51 USD)
Gold: $4,340.10 USD (up $9.48 USD)
Copper: $5.4835 USD (up $0.0610 USD)
Bitcoin: $88,482.84 +0.23%
Dow Jones: 48,134.89 (up 183.04 points)

BTC 88,851.95 +0.26%
BNB $861.43 +0.84%
Dogecoin $0.1320 +0.04%

Market Favs

Closed Today

TKO $213.44 +1.81 +0.86%
Alphabet Inc Class A +$307.16 +4.70 +1.55%
Netflix Inc $94.39 +0.39 +0.41%

News

Trading

Schwab CEO Rick Wurster draws a ‘bright line’ between investing and gambling

When it comes to encouraging customers to invest for the long haul or live in the fast lane, Rick Wurster says he knows where his brokerage stands. And it is not on the side of the guy dressed as a race-car driver. Wurster, appointed Charles Schwab’s CEO in January, has delivered higher profit this year thanks to individual investors’ mounting confidence in trading everything from stocks and bonds to options and exchange-traded funds. An extended rally has led some ordinary Americans into riskier, more-volatile markets.

News

Las Vegas

30 years, millions of lights and one big party at downtown Las Vegas’s Fremont Street Experience

In Vegas time, 30 years is long enough to feel like forever. It’s a monumental chunk of time wherein generations of locals and visitors may have no understanding of what came before. That’s how long we’ve had the Fremont Street Experience—the historic casino-lined five-block pedestrian promenade Downtown, covered mostly by the 1,375-foot LED-screen canopy flashing Viva Vision shows every night—instead of “Glitter Gulch,” what we called Fremont Street when you could drive your car there. When the canopy came to life, there was no Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas, no Bellagio fountains, no faux Eiffel Tower.

News

Congressman urges Commodity Futures Trading Commission to review Kalshi-CNN deal

Congressman Abe Hamadeh has called on federal regulators to review the partnership between news broadcaster CNN and prediction market platform Kalshi, warning that the deal posed risks to market integrity and even national security. In a letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Acting Chairwoman Caroline D. Pham, Hamadeh requested details on how the regulator is reviewing the partnership between Kalshi and CNN. He argued that the arrangement creates a conflict of interest as it allows a major news organization to potentially profit from geopolitical events.

News

More Intel

Dec 19

Central banks did not scare the dollar

Central banks prefer to pause

The strengthening of the dollar prevented gold from reaching a record high. Global central banks are diverging in their policy paths. In the wake of the Fed's decision, Britain and Mexico have lowered rates, whereas the eurozone, Norway, and Sweden have signalled a continued pause. The Bank of Japan tightened its policy, raising the overnight rate to its highest level since 1995 at 0.75%. Nevertheless, the US dollar strengthened against major world currencies on expectations of a prolonged pause in the process of lowering the federal funds rate. The Bank of England lowered the repo rate to 3.75% by five votes to four. Andrew Bailey warned of limited room for manoeuvre in the monetary expansion cycle in 2026. As a result, the futures market reduced its expected scale to 25 basis points. The pound initially strengthened, but a reassessment of US inflation data brought GBPUSD back down to earth. As expected, the ECB raised its eurozone GDP forecasts to 1.4% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026. The central bank expects inflation to remain below target until 2028. Christine Lagarde did not encourage the ‘hawks’ who had previously discussed raising deposit rates. The Frenchwoman repeated the mantra that the European Central Bank is in a comfortable position. The EURUSD's inability to break through resistance at 1.176 resulted in a sell-off. The Bank of Japan raised its overnight rate to 0.75%. This outcome of the December meeting was predicted by all 50 Bloomberg experts. In this regard, after the BoJ's verdict, a sell-off of the yen began on the facts. Moreover, the Governing Council did not signal a continuation of the cycle of monetary tightening. The US dollar strengthened against major world currencies as investors ignored the slowdown in US core inflation to 2.6% in November. This is the lowest level since the beginning of 2021. After the shutdown, the BLS is experiencing problems with data. It will take time for confidence in it to return. The market's reluctance to take US consumer price statistics at face value played a cruel joke on gold. The precious metal hit a new local high but failed to reach a record high and was forced to retreat due to the strengthening of the US dollar. According to Goldman Sachs, structurally high demand from central banks for bullion and cyclical support from the Fed's rate cuts will continue to create tailwinds for XAUUSD. (FxPro)

News

U.S/Tech/Search/A.I News

Google executive addresses calls to slow AI, highlights security and energy focus

Executive cites cybersecurity and energy as key areas where AI growth can be beneficial

Google executive Royal Hansen responded to some lawmakers' calls to slow the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the U.S., emphasizing the need to develop and use the technology responsibly rather than fall behind other countries.

"It's really… this idea of being responsible as we invest in and develop AI because there's a lot of upside to using AI well, whether it's in energy production or healthcare or science."

"But in cybersecurity," he continued, "it's an area where we need to keep people safe, help people learn to use AI well at the same time."

News

Dec 22

Australia

Dodgy $60m crypto mining scheme shut

The Federal Court last week ordered that NGS Crypto and two linked companies be wound up, with the three firms known collectively as the NGS digital mining scheme. The ruling followed an Australian Securities & Investments Commission investigation into the dubious scheme, with ASIC reporting that over 450 people invested about $60 million with the NGS companies over a period of six years. However, to date, only around $US4.5 million ($6.7 million) of that money has been traced. (RMS)

News

Dec 20

Show hits pay dirt, and some real gold

The Discovery Channel Australia will broadcast the 10th season of Aussie Gold Hunter from 8 January. The show was the highest-rating factual series across Foxtel's channels from 2017 and 2022, while it has an estimated global audience of 40 million people in 140 countries. Seven teams of gold prospectors will appear in the new season of Aussie Gold Hunters; the program is produced by Perth-based Electric Pictures, and executive producer Andrew Ogilvie says much of its appeal lies in its depiction of ordinary people finding gold - or not finding it. (RMS)

News

Dec 22

New-age 'showman' stalking Hollywood

Netflix and Paramount are battling for control of Warner Bros Discovery, with Netflix's bid for much of Warner Bros valued at $US72bn ($108.7bn). Some have claimed that Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is trying to destroy Hollywood with its bid, but he has stated he views it as a win for the entertainment industry. He promised in a speech in Paris to keep films in theatres, although he told a Time magazine event this year that he views traditional filmgoing as being outmoded for most people. Producer Greg Berlanti has stated that Sarandos "has that old studio showman flair", while US President Donald Trump has spoken highly of him. (A.I Newsfeed)

News

Gold

Gold prices surged over 65% this year, nearing $4,400 per ounce.

Rising central bank buying and geopolitical risks are driving gold demand and outlook.

It’s hard to imagine gold having a better year in 2026 than it has this year.

The precious metal is up more than 65% this year and has been retesting highs set near Halloween, gaining 7.5% in the last month to get within sniffing distance of $4,400 per ounce.

Markets that achieve that kind of vertical lift — and gold prices as measured by SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) are up 33.7% annualized and roughly 140% cumulative over the last three years — nearly always have similarly scary pullbacks, so investors’ gold nerves are on edge.

And while gold has always been considered a hedge against rising prices and inflation has proven persistent and sticky, gold’s recent rise appears to have little to do with inflation and more to do with geopolitical risk, tariff concerns, a weakened dollar, and more.

News

Dec 20

Sharemarket caps weak year of returns amid blue-chip exodus

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is set to underperform its global peers in calendar 2025. It is on track to post a gain of about six per cent, compared with 8.4 per cent in 2024 and 11.4 per cent in 2023; in contrast, the US and UK bourses are set to post double-digit returns, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong has gained nearly 30 per cent. Tony Sycamore from IG notes that the S&P/ASX 200's performance would have been much worse if it had not benefited from a rally by the resources sector, which has gained about 25 per cent in the year to date; this has been primarily due to a surge in the price of gold. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.39 per cent to 8,621.4 points on Friday. (RMS)

News Flashback

Markets, Biz, News, Resources, Culture

December 19, 2025
Sydney, Australia

Australia and World

S&P/ASX 200 8588.20 +0.37%
S&P 500 6778.28 +0.85%
NIKKEI 49001.50 -1.03%
FTSE 9837.77 +0.65%
AUD/USD66.15 +0.23%
GOLD 4331.30 +0.23%
BITCOIN $84,747.60 -1.52%

News

Markets

ASX futures up 44 points/0.5% to 8627

Wall Street:
S&P 500 +0.8%
Dow Jones: +0.1%
Nasdaq +1.2%

Europe:
Stoxx 50 +1.1%
FTSE +0.7%
DAX +1%
CAC +0.8%

Australian dollar +0.1% to US66.12 cents

Bitcoin $85,077.30 -0.99%

Gold -0.3% to $US4325.33 per ounce

US oil +0.1% to $US55.98 a barrel

Brent crude oil +0.1% to $US59.71 a barrel

Iron ore +1.3% to $US105.00 per ton

10-year yield:
US 4.11%
Australia 4.74%
Germany 2.85%

News

Mining/Energy/Resources

Demand headwinds may put brakes on iron ore's run

The iron ore price has risen by about seven per cent so far in 2025, but Vivek Dhar from the Commonwelth Bank warns that oversupply concerns could soon see the price of the steel input fall below $US100 per tonne. He notes that demand headwinds are accelerating in China, while shipments from the Simandou project in Guinea have commenced. UBS in turn says factors such as rising iron ore port inventories, pressure on the steel sector and Simandou pose downside risks to iron ore prices. Despite the bearish outlook, the ASX 200 materials sector has gained 27 per cent in the year to date. (RMS)

News

Iron ore tipped to plunge into a bear market

Westpac is particularly bearish about the outlook for the iron ore price, forecasting that it will fall by 20 per cent to about $US83 per tonne by the end of 2026. The pessimistic forecast comes amid ongoing signs of a downturn in China's steel industry. Production fell by 11 per cent year-on-year in November, declining for a sixth consecutive month. In contrast, iron ore imports into China reached a record high during the first 11 months of calendar 2025, and inventories at the nation's ports have reached their highest level since March. (RMS)

News

US miners take on Simandou play in Guinea

The Rio Tinto-backed Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea is currently the world's biggest mining project. However, the Kon Kweni iron ore deposit in south-east Guinea is estimated to be of higher quality. It is owned by US-based Ivanhoe Atlantic, which has proposed a $US1.8bn mine and rail project to produce iron ore with 66.5 per cent purity. Ivanhoe Atlantic's president and CEO Bronwyn Barnes says every ton of iron ore produced at Kon Kweni will be reserved solely for US and allied supply chains. The company expects to start shipping ore in the first half of 2027, while it has received preliminary approval to list on the Australian sharemarket. (Roy Morgan Summary)

News

Bitcoin is holding, while Solana is on the edge

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation fell to $2.91T (-2.4% for the day). The surge at the start of the US session on Wednesday only fuelled the bears, who drove the market down to $2.89T by the end of the day, retreating only slightly from these lows. Under intense pressure, the major old altcoins — Ethereum, XRP, and Solana — retreated to multi-month lows, losing about 4% over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin is trading near $87K, roughly where it was the day before. A sharp jump in price above $90K hit a wall of selling, and now just above this round level is a significant short-term resistance line, which was support until 14 December. However, it is also difficult for the market to find reasons to go below the $85K level, from which the price has been rebounding since the beginning of the week. Additionally, it is worth noting that BTC is trading significantly above its late November lows of $80K, outperforming major altcoins.

Solana's price fell to $123, testing an important support area from March 2024. Since its peak in September, this seventh-largest altcoin has lost half of its value. The technical rebound that began at the end of November has ended, and if support at $120 fails, the road down to $90 or even $70 will open up.

News Background

Long-term Bitcoin holders have almost completed their active selling phase, according to K33 Research, which anticipates a decrease in selling pressure. Over the past two years, 20% of the supply has returned to the market, and this process is almost complete.

Institutional investors have begun buying Bitcoin at a rate faster than miners can mine it, Capriole notes. For the first time since November, demand from companies has exceeded the inflow of new coins into the market amid a more than 30% drop in the asset from its October highs.

Strategy bought 641 bitcoins daily in 2025, according to Finbold Research. This allowed it to increase its holdings by 223,800 BTC (a 50% increase) in less than a year.

The capacity of the Lightning Network (LN) micropayment network has reached a historic high, thanks to technical improvements and the implementation of the solution by major exchanges. The growth of this indicator is a sign of demand for faster and cheaper transactions. (FxPro)

News

The dollar's wings have been clipped

Christopher Waller's dovish rhetoric halted the bears' attack on EURUSD.

Slowing British inflation caused the pound to fall, while the Bank of Japan is preparing to raise rates.

Christopher Waller's comments had as much of an impact on the US dollar as the US labour market statistics. The rise in unemployment to 4.6% and the acceleration in average private sector employment over three months from 13,000 in the summer to 75,000 in the autumn forced investors to change their views. They began to expect a prolonged pause in the monetary expansion cycle and a reduction in the federal funds rate to 3.75% in 2026. However, a senior FOMC official thinks differently.

Christopher Waller is one of the candidates for the position of Fed chair. He believes that the neutral rate is 2.75%, which is 100 basis points below current levels. This is significantly lower than the forecasts of the futures market. If the cost of borrowing falls to this level, Treasury yields will decline and the USD index will collapse. Moreover, the futures market is confident that the ECB's monetary expansion cycle is coming to an end. Investors are beginning to price in expectations of a rise in deposit rates. This is usually done when the risks of inflation accelerating increase or monetary policy becomes too loose. Neither of these conditions applies to the eurozone. It is too early to talk about a new trump card for EURUSD. On the contrary, weak data on business activity in the currency bloc and German business confidence from the IFO are disappointing ECB hawks and putting pressure on the euro. The regional currency appears too expensive. Japan has a different problem. The yen appears too cheap for a government fighting inflation. Therefore, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will not stand in the way of the Bank of Japan's intention to raise rates. Investors are eagerly awaiting Kazuo Ueda's signals about the regulator's actions in 2026. The BoJ is expected to very slowly normalise monetary policy. This fact supports the bulls on USDJPY. The slowdown in British inflation from 3.6% to 3.2% in November caused the pound to plummet. The futures market is confident that by April, the repo rate will be cut by 50 basis points to 3.5%. Investors doubt that the Bank of England will take a hawkish stance in December. They expect Andrew Bailey to signal a continuation of the cycle of monetary policy easing. (FxPro)

News

The Lead Up

Dec 18

ASX ends lower on oil stocks; miners rally

The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Wednesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.2 per cent to close at 8,585.2 points. Woodside Energy was down 2.4 per cent at $23.40, GrainCorp fell 15.5 per cent to $7.09 and DroneShield ended the session 12,1 per cent lower at $2.47. However, Liontown Resources was up 11.8 per cent at $1.51 and Humm Group rose 10.6 per cent to $0.73 in response to a takeover bid.

News

Markets/Resources/Commodities

Dec 18

Australian Dollar: $0.6600 USD (down $0.0030 USD) Iron Ore: $103.60 USD (up $US1.15)
Oil Price: $56.13 USD (up $0.94 USD)
Gold Price: $4,339.35 USD (up $28.14 USD)
Copper Price: $5.4205 USD (up $0.0545 USD)
Bitcoin: $85,642.68 USD (down 2.38%)
Dow Jones: 47,974.02 (down 140.24 points)

News

Currency Notes Under The Watercooler

Crypto Winter Darwinism

Digital asset treasuries were flying high earlier this year until bitcoin's sudden October crash. Now many of those companies are sitting on unrealized losses.

Over 180 public companies currently hold crypto on their balance sheets, with roughly 100 of that total having followed some version a the playbook that Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor pioneered in 2020 by issuing debt and equity to rapidly accumulate bitcoin.

Bitcoin's more recent volatility has prompted a sell-off across the digital asset treasury space.

Strategy's stock has fallen roughly 40% since bitcoin's Oct. 10 liquidation.

Investors have wrestled with Strategy's imitators even worse over the past month. KindlyMD (NAKA) has dived 39%. Eric Trump's American Bitcoin (ABTC) is down 60%. Anthony Pompliano's ProCap Financial (BRR) has fell 65%.

Other ether-holding treasury companies, like sports betting company SharpLink Gaming (SBET) and computing firm Bit Digital (BTBT), have seen their stocks tumble about 40% over the past two months.

"Market concerns on MSTR are overstated and there is no realistic scenario which threatens the longevity of MSTR," analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote in a note on Dec. 1. "However, several MSTR copy-cats may continue to trade at discount to their NAVs without a clear path to raise long term capital."

Restructuring and stronger players acquiring weaker ones are possibilities, according to Will Owens, a research analyst for Galaxy Digital.

"In other words, treasury companies are about to enter a Darwinian phase," Owens wrote earlier this month.

Bet with your head, not over it!